WATERING THE NEIGHBOUR'S GARDEN: THE GROWING - CICRED

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KIM D.S. –SONG Y.J.
trance examinations reflects the Korean’s reliance on religion to
achieve secular or worldly desires.
As shown in Figure 2, religious prevalence differs substantially by
region. The Youngnam and Honam regions reveal the greatest contrast
by religion. Buddhism is most popular in Youngnam, while the majority
of people belonging to a religion in Honam are Protestants (Kim
Mi-Ok, 2004; KNSO, 2006). Catholicism is relatively less prevalent
than the other two religions and does not show a dominant pattern in
its distribution.
Figure 2 Number of religious institutions per 10,000 inhabitants by region,
Korea, 2000
Protestant Church Catholic Church Buddhist Temple
Inst/10,000 inhbt
0 - 5
5.01 - 10
10.01 - 15
15.01 - 35
Inst/10,000 inhbt
0 - 1
1.01 - 2
2.01 - 3
3.01 - 3.5
Source: Korea National Statistical Office (2001).
Inst/10,000 inhbt
0 - 5
5.01 - 10
10.01 - 15
15.01 - 20
Buddhism has a long history and is compatible with Confucianism,
which was the dominant culture in the Chosun Dynasty (1392-
1910). In contrast, originating from western countries, Protestantism
was introduced to Korea in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, and
came into conflict with Confucianism. Thus, Buddhism prevailed in
regions where tradition and Confucianism were stabilized. Protestantism
diffused to regions where traditional values and Confucianism
were weak and a strong innovative motivation emerged (Chung and
Kim, 1993).